Minnesotan Builds Mini-Houses, Churches

Minnesotan Builds Mini-Houses, Churches AG WORLD Ag World 10-4-19 When Nanton Raw, Pelican Rapids, Minn. retired about 8 years ago, he looked for something to keep busy. After several years of building furniture, he finally hit on the idea of building mini houses and churches which he'd seen and admired. One of the first replicas he built was an exact copy of a small country church just down the road from his home. The scale model is complete with pews, pulpit and electric lights. From that, he has gone on to building many different houses and churches, but he particularly likes the southern mansion-style plantation. He even goes so far as to finish them off inside with stairways and furnishings. People come to look and often end up buying his buildings. "I've shipped them as far as California and a lot of them to Minneapolis," he says. One which he is particularly proud of is a replica of a church built in Norway in the 1600s. A company built a mate to it and shipped it to Paris for exhibition. Nanton saw a picture of the church and built his own replica, complete with pews, pulpit, stained glass windows and other furnishings. He added one thing the original probably didn't haveùelectricity. The edifice now sits in his living room, and also graces the cover of a recent farm supply company's catalogue. Most of his structures average about 3 ft. wide, 3 ft. high, and a couple feet long. He uses wood for all his buildings along with tiny nails and "a lot of glue". Basswood seems to work best for the small structures. As far as tools, he says it doesn't take anything special. "I've got a little bit of everything," he laughs. "That's about what it takes." After suffering a heart attack several years ago, his doctor told him to keep active, but not to overdo it. "This hobby has filled in ideally," says Nanton. Story and photos reprinted courtesy Pelican Rapids Press.

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